


hopeful tragedies

by officialmarsrover



Category: Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Album)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Drug Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self Harm, Mental Health Issues, Other, Suicidal Ideation, listen i have a lot of feelings about christian and gloria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 18:16:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7651402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialmarsrover/pseuds/officialmarsrover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>gloria and christian, on the edge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hopeful tragedies

"it's cold out."

she didn't turn around, but it was easy to tell she heard him.

"i'm looking at the sunset." her voice was stiff and forced.

he stepped closer, out of the doorway. "pretty fucking close to the edge for stargazing."

she shrugged. he stared at her, and she stared at the sky, swinging her legs back and forth and leaning back on her arms. her hands were still covered in faint splotches of spray paint, barely visible in the growing darkness.

they didn't talk about it. talking about their failures and the imbalances in their brain and the times that they had been  _that close_ wasn't something they did, because it wasn't something that people like them dealt with. instead they kept their emotions inside and self-medicated with drugs and razor blades. but they both knew that this wasn't the first time either of them had been on the edge; both literally and metaphorically.

they were both hopeful, rebels and fighters, but sometimes, once in a while, things could become a little too much for even people like them. they had both stared down a sharp edge on already scarred skin and bottles of stolen narcotics and the bottom of a river. the difference was this was the first time they hadn't been alone.

"what about the war?"

"what about it?"

"come on! where's your excitement? rebellion! young outlaws fucking shit up and sticking it to the government!" he flung his arms up into the air for dramatic effect as he said this. she rolled her eyes.

(she hadn't missed the small bruises on his inner arms as he did this. she recognized track marks when she saw them. she let it go for now, reminding herself that she wasn't the only one who was a little bit damaged.)

"we need you. the rebellion needs you."

she laughed. it was a hollow, humorless laugh, stripped down by a lifetime of pain and loneliness. "you don't need me. all i do is - fuck things up." she turned her face to the sky.

"nah." he turned to look at her, although her eyes still stared at the darkening horizon. "doesn't fucking matter what happened before. all that matters is what you do next. and you aren't the kind of person who gives up."

she made a small, noncomittal noise. it was the closest thing to talking about their feelings that they had gotten, and while it was uncomfortable, neither of them really wanted it to end.

she knew this, and she didn't doubt its truth. but sometimes even strong people can break, if only momentarily. it's always easier to put the pieces back together with help.

"really." he paused for a moment. "i need you."

she snorted. "you're a nihlist. you don't need anything. don't fucking lie to me."

their idealistic differences weren't something they talked about, either. she wanted to fix the system, and he just wanted to tear the fucking thing to shreds. it had been a while since she had doubted his devotion to her, at least out loud. when she broke, she didn't just break. she shattered.

"i'm not! i fucking swear i'm not lying to you. nihlists don't need lies, that's for fucking sure."

she stared at his face, unreadable emotions flickering through his expression.

"you think i'm weak." she didn't say it like an accusation, just like she was stating a fact.

"i don't think you're weak." he huffed out a breath and looked away from her. he couldn't say it, and that was okay. they both knew she understood. it wasn't something that needed to be said.

they were having a moment. they both knew this, on some level, but it didn't feel like a moment. there was no crying or hysterics. they didn't do hysterics.

he slid his hand down to meet hers and linked their fingers together. it was the closest thing to a love confession they would have, at least for now.

"come on." he turned back to face her. "please. i promise, i really do need you."

she sat there, staring at his face and thinking.

"okay."

she glanced down at the street below one more time at the edge, then allowed him to pull her to her feet.

there weren't always happy endings for people like them. they were both bright and hopeful, but bitter and sad at the same time, too aware of the pain the world could cause to ignore the facts. they kept their dreams burning in their hearts, although they lived with the fear that they might someday be stamped out forever. they were hopeful tragedies, the two of them.

but if they were going down, they were going to go down together.

**Author's Note:**

> this is honestly the most emo thing i have ever written. yikes  
> no but in all seriousness christian and gloria really get to me for some reason. i really liked the way the album's storyline was very loosely drawn and left up to interpretation so i tried to write this fic the same way. i honestly have no idea if it worked yikes but christian and gloria's relationship can really be seen in any light here, much like how it isn't really said in this what's going on in the world around them/what exactly theyre doing/where they are etc. i personally see them as romantically involved but yknow thats just the way i see it so i tried to write this as loosely as possible  
> so yeah thats about it lmao. thank you for reading!


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